Jump Start # 1892

Matthew 26:36-37 “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed.”

Recently, my preacher where I worship gave an amazing lesson about Andrew. That lesson has stayed with me. I want to share with you some things about Andrew. Thanks, Jason for a great lesson.

Our verse today is the lead in to the sad garden prayer of Jesus prior to His arrest and crucifixion. It would be in that prayer that His sweat becomes blood. He knew what was coming. He begged the Father, if possible, let this pass. It wasn’t possible. He knew that. He knew that’s why He was there. But the moment was now upon Him. What was stuck in the back of His mind was now in the forefront. His cousin John had died a violent death. Now it was His turn. The hour had come. It would be senseless. It would be painful. It would be torture. If He could only skip this part, but He couldn’t.

Jesus goes to pray. Judas is not among them. He is rounding up the troops and getting paid off for turning Jesus over to the Jewish authorities. Jesus tells eight apostles to sit over there and pray. He takes with Him, the remaining three, Peter, James and John. The inner circle. The trio. It was these three that went to the home of Jairus and witnessed Jesus raising the little girl from her death bed. It was these same three that saw Jesus transfigured. Why three? Connected to the trinity? Represents body, soul and heart? Illustrating past, present and future? A lot of theories, many ideas. We are not told. But it was always the same three.

Here is where Andrew comes in. James and John were brothers. Jesus included them. Peter and Andrew were brothers. Only Peter is invited. It was Andrew who first told Peter about Jesus. When Jesus told the disciples to feed the 5,000, it was Andrew who found a lad with a snack. Just about every time Andrew’s name is listed, the tag, “Simon Peter’s brother,” is included. Simon can’t get away from being Peter’s brother.

How it must have felt, to sit there with the other apostles, and to see Jesus taking the brothers, James and John and your brother, Peter, but not inviting you. You weren’t invited to Jairus’ home. Your brother was. You were not included in the transfiguration. Your brother was.

Many of us have grown up in the shadow of an older brother or sister. They were the first to have more privileges than any one else. They may have excelled. You may have always been in their shadows. When you went to school, teachers and coaches knew you as the kid brother of your sibling. You were often introduced as being the brother of your sibling. In the shadows. Second fiddle. Second team. On the bench. Second chair. Not first, always second. And with many of us, we grow up, got married, have kids and now we are known as the dad or mom of our kids.

One has to wonder what Andrew thought. Why wasn’t it Andrew and Peter and just John? Why the other brothers, but not Andrew and Peter? Wasn’t he good enough? Was Peter better than he was? This is the very way that jealously begins. Some grow up hating being compared to their older sibling. Hand me down clothes and hand me down comparisons is enough to make some bitter. Some rebel, trying to cart their own path and to have their own identity. Some just assume that they are never good enough. They weren’t varsity. They weren’t honor roll. They didn’t get the scholarships. All that went to the older brother or sister.

This Peter-Andrew thing can trickle into the church. Every congregation has what they feel is the best song leader. On special occasions, we want to bring out the best. Second best doesn’t get the nod. That’s enough to spark some problems. Even among us preachers, some are better known and some are more popular. Much of that is shallow and political, but, it’s enough to make some feel useless in the kingdom.

Andrew witnessed the resurrection of Jesus. Andrew preached along with the other apostles in Acts 2. Andrew went into all the world and preached as he was commissioned. He never authored a book of the Bible. We have none of his sermons recorded in the Bible. He served. He remained true. He doesn’t seem to be bothered that he was known as Peter’s brother.

Here are some thoughts:

Find the good that you can do and do it. Through the years, things change and you find what you are good at. Here’s my short story. I’m number two in my family. My older brother was the high school sports editor. He was the writer. He became an attorney. But today, here I am writing, every day to an audience worldwide. Who would have thought? I expect he can still write better than I can, but I just do it.

Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone, even in the same family, has their own path, their own story and their own challenges. Comparing only makes you get upset. Some may have had doors opened to them that you didn’t. Be the best that you can be. The two talent man is a tough place to be. He’s not as good as the five talent man but he seems to be better than the one talent man. Those thoughts can take you places that are not healthy nor right. You can think too much of yourself or too little of yourself. We preachers need to think about this. We can listen to another preacher and be amazed at how good he is. We ought to be thankful, not jealous. We are on the same team and wanting the same thing, the glory of God.

Learn from others. I often wonder if Andrew and Peter walked together down the road following Jesus. I don’t know that, but they were brothers. I wonder if they had some private conversations. Learn from others. Instead of being jealous, ask “how do you do that?” When someone asks you, don’t hold trade secrets. Don’t be pompous. Help the guy who wants to learn from you. Song leaders, help the young guys who look up to you. Preachers, help fellow preachers.

Be thankful for the Peter, James, and John’s among us. In the kingdom there are Peter’s and there are Paul’s. We need them both. We need men who are practical, simple and very understandable. We need men of depth. We need men to explain things thoroughly. The Lord didn’t choose twelve Peter’s. The Lord didn’t choose twelve Paul’s. There was a mixture. Peter, James, John, Paul—well known in our Bibles. But there was also the Andrews. Jesus chose him. Jesus wanted him. He was important to the kingdom.

Andrew, you stay with the others. Peter, you come with Me and James and John. We don’t find Andrew begging to come. We don’t find Andrew sneaking in the bushes to listen in. And, we don’t find Andrew throwing a fit and walking home.

It’s easy to be a Peter, James or John. Can you be an Andrew? Can you serve the Lord faithfully?

Roger